Jets from Russia and Belarus will hopefully make a key difference in the fight against ISIS in Iraq, the country’s Prime Minister Nouri Maliki said. He expressed regrets over Iraq's contract with the US, saying their jets are taking too long to arrive.

"God willing within
one week this force will be effective and will destroy the
terrorists' dens," he told BBC Arabic.

Meanwhile, Maliki criticized the process of purchasing US jets as
“long-winded,” adding that the radicals could have been repelled
if Iraq had proper air defense.

"I'll be frank and say that we were deluded when we signed
the contract [with the US]," Maliki said. "We should
have sought to buy other jet fighters like British, French and
Russian to secure the air cover for our forces; if we had air
cover we would have averted what had happened," he went on.

Maliki said Iraq bought second-hand jet fighters from Russia and
Belarus "that should arrive in Iraq in two or three
days.”

The radical Sunni Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS or
ISIL) has taken large parts of the country's north from the Shia
government.

During the interview, the prime minister also confirmed that
Syria was behind Tuesday’s air strikes that targeted Iraqi
rebels, adding that he welcomed the move.

"They carry out their strikes and we carry out ours and the
final winners are our two countries," he said.

On Tuesday, unidentified bombers launched an air strike on ISIS positions in the
northern Iraqi city of al-Qaim.

Iraq’s own air force has also been carrying out attacks on
insurgent strongholds over the past week.

On Monday, radical Sunni militants regained control over the northern city of Tal Afar
and an airport. A day earlier, jihadists captured three new towns
and two border crossings – one with Jordan and the other with
Syria.

The ongoing offensive by ISIS is aimed at achieving total
dominance in Iraq by radical Sunni militants.

Hundreds of Iraqi soldiers have been killed by the insurgents
since June 9, when the Sunni militants started their offensive,
according to Iraqi forces.

The United Nations says more than 1,000 people – mainly civilians
– have been killed during the surge thus far.